BitTorrent signs up Jack Bauer

Then cuts him up into tiny bite-sized files

BitTorrent has added 20th Century Fox, Paramount, MTV and others to its roster of legit partners ahead of its launch as a content hub.

The firm's peer to peer technology will be used to deliver hit shows like 24, South Park and Hogan Knows Best, along with stone cold classics of the cinematic art Mission: Impossible III and Saw III. The deals add to Bittorrent's announcement in May it would dish out Warner Brothers content.

BitTorrent said all TV shows it distributes would be download-to-own, whereas some movies would come in a DRM-tastic video-on-demand form. Details of who's not really ready to embrace digital film distribution weren't given.

No details were given on pricing, though BitTorrent said some content will be ad-supported. BitTorrent said it would release details closer to the February 2007 rollout of its online retail store.

As part of the launch, Palm Pictures, who were responsible for Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men earlier this year, said they would be brave enough to be the first to distribute a feature film over BitTorrent before both the theatrical and DVD releases.

BitTorrent claims 40 per cent of all internet traffic, and that its research says 30 per cent of users would use it for paid-for content. BitTorrent's play to studios is that it's best placed to help solve their piracy collywobbles.